Analysis of the UK Confectionery Industry: Thorntons

Analysis of the UK Confectionery Industry: Thorntons Confectionery Industry In The UK Contributes A Major Amount Of Revenue To The Countrys Economy Chapter 1: Introduction Confectionery industry in the UK contributes a major amount of revenue to the countrys economy. Repeated case studies have revealed that the confectionery industry is ever growing and the demand for creativity and innovation in the products in increasingly demanded by the consumers in the UK market. Alongside, the growth in the confectionery industry has also resulted in the stiff competition among the players in the market with many global competitors like Cadbury and Nestle. The growth of more focused and niche market targeting companies have also grown tremendously in the UK, which includes companies like Thorntons, Ferroro UK ltd, etc. The stiff competition in the market and the increased penetration of the big players into various market segments has further disturbed the position of companies like Thorntons. This report is focused on the analysis of the marketing strategies for Thorntons Plc and provides valuable suggestions for future expansion and strategies to gain competiti ve advantage in the UK chocolate market. The report aims to achieve the following objectives To effectively segment the target market for Thorntons and identify those segment(s) here the company can effectively develop its business. To identify the importance of buyer behaviour and establish that the effective deployment of buyer behaviour would help the company understand its target market in detail so as to gain market share. Provide recommendation for an appropriate short-term promotional campaign in the UK for increasing the awareness on the companys products in the target market. Devise a sales or promotion campaign for the company in order to increase its sales through focusing on establishing the brand of Thorntons in the market as a strong competitor. Present a critical analysis of the advertising strategy mentioned in the case study for Thorntons and device a new advertising strategy that would include a creative media based plan in order to increase the awareness among the customers in the target market Also device a critical structure for the direct marketing plans in order to reach the over 50 years segment of customers in the UK market. Chapter Overview Chapter 1: Introduction This is the current chapter that introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and the flow of the report text. Chapter 2: Market Segmentation and buyer behaviour This chapter first presents an analysis on the market segmentation and identifies those segments that the company should target upon for further market expansion. This is then followed by the overview of the buyer behaviour and the use of buyer behaviour by the company in order to gain competitive advantage in its target market. Chapter 3: Advertising and Promotion This chapter first presents a discussion on a short-term promotional campaign for the company in order to increase the awareness of the products in the existing target market. This is then followed by a detailed overview of the advertising plan incorporating creative plans in the media based advertising in order to promote the products of the company. This is then followed by a critical analysis on the direct marketing strategy for over 50 years segment of customers in the UK in order to effectively reach that segment of the market so as to increase the sales as well as the market share. Chapter 4: Conclusion The objectives of the chapter are reviewed against the research and analysis conducted in the previous chapters and then a conclusion is derived based on the results of the analysis. Chapter 2: Market Segmentation and Buyer Behaviour 2.1: Market Segmentation From the case study of the company it is evident that the major segments in the Chocolate market include Count lines Moulded Bars Boxed Chocolates Seasonal Products and Bagged Self lines It is also evident that the company under debate i.e. Thorntons Plc specialize in the manufacture and sale of Boxed continental chocolates in the UK and global market. Hence the market segment that the company primarily operates is under the sub sector of the Boxed chocolates in the Chocolates industry of the UK. A further segmentation of the Boxed Chocolates market in the UK based on the price and quality is presented below The thousand and One Nights: Gender and Power Dynamics The thousand and One Nights: Gender and Power Dynamics GENDER/POWER dynamics as seen in The thousand and one nights The Thousand and one Nights are a collection of stories in the middle east/south asia in the golden Islamic age. The tales are centered around the people Shahrayar and Shahrazad. Sharazad uses her power of storytelling to King sharayar to keep her and others protected from being executed. Throughout the story we see that women are only seen as objects of pleasure as women only can hold onto their power through sex,desire and beauty. Women in the stories in the thousand and one nights The thousand and one nights uses Sharazad to represent feminism as with her wisdom and her way of storytelling we see how she overpowers herself and change Shahrayar.This juxtaposing idea of womens role in society and Shahrazad shows us the actual value that women possess as they are just equal to men. There is also an interesting correlation with gender/power dynamic and with class that is present in the thousand and one nights. There is this common theme in the stories Shahrazad tells sharayar the stories can be labeled as misogynistic as some of the stories told feature men who cause the downfall of women. An example being the short story The merchant and his wife. When reading this story readers might be quite surprised on the message the story is trying to convey that men should be able to beat their wives in order to control them. At first I was quite confused on why Shahrazad tells this specific story in order to change shahrayar but then I found that she tells this story in order to show a reflection of him and his actions. The actual intended message was to show that beating women wont force obedience. Telling this story surprisingly actually worked as she didnt get killed by the king the day after. In the Fisherman and the Jinni we are introduced to a Jinni and Fisherman as this story concerns on this idea of this power dynamic. In the story we are first introduced to this fisherman who we see that this fisherman is near the shores trying to catch fish for his family. We then see the fisherman reels in a golden jar which then a Jinni comes out of. The Jinni then tries to kill the fisherman but fails to do so as the fisherman is then tricked to go back into the jar. We see this idea embedded in the quote Since I must die, he said, before I choose the manner of my death, I conjure you on your honour to tell me if you really were in that vase?' This quote itself makes readers question the validity of status in society as this reveals us how a fisherman is trying/planning to outsmart a Jinni. The fisherman is considered as a person of such low status and him being able to outsmart such a powerful creature must mean something . Status is just a social construct created by society an d Shahrazad telling this story shows this.There is also this strong relation with Allah the story revolves around this idea that if you trust and believe in allah good will always come to you. In one of the stories The Woman Whose Hands Were Cut Off For that She Gave Alms to the Poorwe see an interesting point regarding the gender dynamic commonly seen in the thousand and one nights. We see here a clear portrayal of how women can hold on their power other than things like sex,beauty and desire. Instead we see the women holding onto her power with her generosity. In the story we see here that a womans hand is cut off after giving food to a poor man. Later in the story this act of generosity is what saves her as the scene when she tries to save a baby from drowning the food that she gave to the old man comes and restores her hands. Seen in the story the power of generosity helps her retain her power as a woman. We see this similar concept in another story in the thousand and one nights named The Miller and his Wife . Where the wife used her intelligence to retain her power. The wife in the story after finding out the millers dream about the treasure uses this to try to attra ct the attention of her real lover which is their neighbor. Having this attribute helps her both gain her actual lover and getting rid of her husband. But the exact thing women were valued during this time overcomes her and she fails to get what she wants. Instead of holding onto her power with her intelligence she lets her love and sexual desire for the neighbor get the best of her thus leading her both to lose her love and the treasure. In the Tale of Ala-al din and the wonderful lamp we see this aspect of gender/Power dynamic. Women are rarely given voices and are only to be desired by men. We are introduced to this character named Ala-al-din even is considered the protagonist is actually a character that is filled with greed. When Ala-al-din first meets with the genie and turns ala-al-din who is considered a low-life into a well-respected man only for his riches. When Ala-al din was transformed into this new man we see his undeniable greed as he only wanted to flaunt with what he wanted. His main desire was getting the sultans daughter despite her already being married he makes a plan to her. This idea shows one of the framings of women in the thousand and one nights as in this case we see the daughter acting as a desirable object. At the end of the story we are given this closing which states Aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. He was made captain of the Sultans armies, and won several battles for him, but remained as courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and content for several years. When reading this quote readers get a sense of this feeling of greed. The theme of Aladdin seems to focus on this idea that the whole rag to riches theme can be only achieved by the feeling of greed. That if you want a better life for yourself you will have to be greedy. Ala Al-Din also shows his power by outsmarting the genie Before meeting the genie Ala al din is seen as a low life as he is very poor but we see this quickly turn around when he meets the genie and is then transformed into a wealthy respectable man. We see this interesting connection also within The fisherman and the Jinni how a person with low status is able to outsmart a being who is considered powerful. This shows how this idea of status is imaginary and means nothing. Ala-al din is actually powerful in his own terms and doesnt need society labelling him of such low status. Conclusively The thousand and one nights in a larger frame actually shows us the power and value that women possess regardless of the fact that the stories were labelled as misogynistic by many and the morals and virtues believed when the stories were made.. Women possess this power of intelligence that helps them retain their power which is clearly seen in numerous stories in the thousand and one nights. The thousand and one nights clearly act as a symbol of feministic literature pieces from many years to come.